WSOP Spring Circuit: Natural8 players Conor Beresford and Joachim Haraldstad capture rings; “Godofbaccarat” locks up BIG 500

Tremendous week at online platform Natural8 – GGNet with the World Series of Poker Spring Circuit $100M guaranteed getting everyone hyped up. The games opened on March 24 and by last night the first three WSOPC rings were claimed. Locking up shiners were anonymous player “Godofbaccarat” and Natural8 players Conor Beresford and Joachim Haraldstad. All three champions also scored a goldmine of prizes which included seats to the MILLIONAIRE MAKER and Tournament of Champions happening live in Las Vegas this summer. More action ahead. 15 rings and plenty of cash yet to be won with nonstop action running through April 17. We’ve got those stories for you and more. 

Festival tally

Ring #1 – #3 prize pool: US$ 7,491,830
Cumulative Entries: 7,469 (ring events)
Natural8 winners: 2
Biggest winner: Conor Beresford – US$ 728,028
Side Events prize pool: ~US$ 25,949,400 (end of March 30)
Side Events top winner: Isaac Haxton – US$ 291,155

GODOFBACCARAT wins the Big 500 NLH Spring Kickoff for US$ 325,684

The BIG 500 NLH Spring Kickoff drew a thunderous 6,242 entries across nine flights which was more than enough to fatten up the 2M guaranteed prize pool to US$ 2,964,950. A total of 1,080 advanced to the final day and the top 700 got paid. A quarter past eight hours of play, anonymous Canadian player nicknamed “Godofbaccarat” eliminated Danilo Velasevic to capture the first WSOPC ring. This was the champion’s maiden victory on the network and it came with a US$ 325,684 payout. 

“Godofbaccarat” staged by far the most impressive performance. Despite not having eliminated anyone (at the final table) prior to reaching heads up, Godofbaccarat” was the player to catch. The final battle for golden glory kicked off with “Godofbaccarat” up by 29 BB to Danilo Velasevic’s 23 BB. It only took a handful of hands to seal the win. Velasevic shoved , “Godofbaccarat” called with , the board ran for a victorious straight. 

Buy in: US$ 500
Guarantee: US$ 2,000,000
Entries: 6,242 (4,608 unique, 1,634 re-entry)
Prize pool: US$ 2,964,950
ITM: 700 places

Final table payouts

1st “Godofbaccarat” – Canada – US$ 325,684
2nd Danilo Velasevic – Serbia – US$ 244,228
3rd “Memukul” – Austria – US$ 183,145
4th Johannes “Hazes” Straver – Netherlands – US$ 137,339
5th Vinnie “JerryYang07” Mohan – UK – US$ 102,990
6th Alon “Alon_Eldar” Eldar – Israel – US$ 77,231
7th Stoyan Obreshkov – Bulgaria – US$ 57,915
8th Andreas “DonPepe” Samuelsson – Sweden – US$ 43,430
9th Jerry “Pen15” Wong – Canada – US$ 32,568

CONOR BERESFORD bags career high US$ 728,028 at Super MILLION$ High Rollers

Natural8 player / online poker beast Conor Beresford seized his first ever WSOPC title and ring at the most prestigious super high roller event offered on the network. On his second bullet, Beresford topped the 389 entry field, breaking Brazilian superstar Pablo Silva’s final table stronghold. Beresford walked away pocketing a career high US$ 728,028 and was the first player in this series to receive an N8 LiveX Sponsorship worth US$ 10,000. Based on his N8 stats, Beresford has accumulated US$ 1.5 Million which was roughly US$ 150K more than his live earnings tracked by The Hendon Mob. 

The Super MILLION$ High Rollers NLH saw 232 players get on board and 157 re-entries for 389 total entries. At US$ 10,300 buy in each, the promised 3M guarantee was history for a richer US$ 3,890,000 prize pool. Among the players contributing the most of seven bullets each were Samuel Vousden, Adrian Mateos, and Juan Pardo Dominguez. Only Vousden recouped some of the money with a min-cash of US$ 27,650. The final table formed at the fall of Australian pro / 4x WSOP bracelet holder Michael Adddamo in 10th place. 

After a one day break, the final table resumed and streamed live on GGPoker YouTube channel. Silva carried in a towering stack over 100 BB. His closest challenger was APL Online Main Event champion nettley with 55 BB. Also in the round were WSOP bracelet holders Yuri Dzivielevski, Tyler “TheRayGuy” Cornell, and Chris Frank. Within the first twenty minutes was a three way all in with short stacked Costa Recorn biting the bullet in 9th place and Tomi “BAAABUUSKIIII” Brouk scooping up the pot. Despite the boost, BAAABUUSKIIII busted next on a failed bluff shove on the river against Beresford. Seven-handed ran a lengthy forty minutes with Silva widening his lead to nearly half the chips in play. Nettley climbed to second rank (half of Silva’s stack) after rivering a higher pair that cost Frank all his chips. 

Following the bust, Beresford made a big lay down on a board with top pair against Silva’s hidden set. Nettley claimed a second victim after outdrawing Cornell. Chip leader Silva ended Taiwan’s “TTP_poker” in 5th place to maintain top rank. Bad timing for Dzivielevksi who three-bet shoved his 15 BB on the big blind with that ran into sb Beresford’s . The win pushed Beresford ahead of Silva by 2 BB. Leading up to the next bust, Silva grinded and regained top spot. Beresford put the lid on nettley with A-K over A-10 to face Silva at heads up. Silva had 58 BB and Beresford was sitting on 53 BB. Fifteen minutes in, Beresford jumped to a 2:1 advantage and skated on to victory. The final hand saw a board , Beresford check-jammed flush, Silva tank-called with . 

Buy in: US$ 10,300
Guarantee: US$ 3,000,000
Entries: 389 (232 unique, 157 re-entry)
Prize pool: US$ 3,890,000
ITM: 40 places

Final table payouts

1st Conor Beresford – England – US$ 728,028
2nd Pablo Silva – Brazil – US$ 561,386
3rd “nettley” – Austria – US$ 432,888
4th Yuri Dzivielevski – Brazil – US$ 333,802
5th “TTP_poker” – Taiwan – US$ 257,396
6th Tyler “TheRayGuy” Cornell – USA – US$ 198,750
7th Chris Frank – Germany – US$ 153,049
8th Tomi “BAAABUUSKIIII” Brouk – Finland – US$ 118,017
9th Costa Recorn – Malta – US$ 49,789

JOACHIM HARALDSTAD bulldozes to victory at PLO Spring Championship

The third WSOPC ring on the line was offered at the Pot LImit Omaha Spring Championship which was seized by Natural8 player / Norwegian pro Joachim Haraldstad. Although he’s had plenty of wins on the network, this was Haraldstad’s first ever WSOPC title. The champ bulldozed through the final table, eliminating the last five players. For his achievement, Haraldstad scored US$ 100,506 and became the second player to receive a Natural8 LiveX Sponsorship worth US$ 10,000. Based on his N8 stats, Haraldstad has accumulated nearly US$ 1.9 Million in winnings. His largest payout was at the 2021 WSOP Online Super MILLION$ High Roller where he placed 6th for US$ 276,269

The event was another guarantee crusher as 838 ponied up the US$ 800 buy in to turn a sweeter US$ 636,880 pot. Among those that missed the money was Jeff “DollarVig” Berwick who fired a shocking 12 bullets, the most by any player. HIghly decorated Polish pro Wiktor Malinowski also forked up double digits, buying in 10 times, but made up some of it in 30th place. The final table ran for two hours with Haraldstad never relinquishing his monstrous lead. After Karl Schedlberger busted in 7th place, Haraldstad cleaned out the rest. The final hand saw a board with Haraldstad showing a set that easily beat TomBrady1975’s two pair. 

Buy in: US$ 800
Guarantee: US$ 500,000
Entries: 838 (413 unique, 428 re-entry)
Prize pool: US$ 636,880
ITM: 116 places

Final table payouts

1st Joachim Haraldstad – Norway – US$ 100,506
2nd “TomBrady1975” – USA – US$ 73,078
3rd “THarder910” – China – US$ 53,136
4th Alexander “MightyStation” Maynard – Australia – US$ 38,365
5th Fernando “good viking” Henrique – Brazil – US$ 28,092
6th “iAmPsico” – Moldova – US$ 20,426
7th Karl Schedlberger – Austria – US$ 14,852

Exclusive Natural8 LiveX Sponsorships

As always, Asia’s leading online platform Natural8 offers fantastic incentives for its players. Capture a ring, you instantly win a Natural8 LiveX Sponsorship worth US$ 10K! Two players have already achieved this milestone namely, Conor Beresford (Super MILLION$ High Rollers NLH champion) and Joachim Haraldstad (PLO Spring Championship winner). If an N8 player wins the Main Event, that player will receive the mother lode LiveX Sponsorship worth US$ 88,888!

*Players that opt out of the live event will only receive the buy-in portion of the prize. The live event sponsorship will be paid out over a 12-month period.